Mold Temporarily Closes another California Fire Station

LA Testing offers mold and other indoor air quality (IAQ) testing services to identify airborne contaminants to protect building occupants.

South Pasadena, CA, December 3rd, 2014

Last month, the Contra Costa Times reported that the East Contra Costa Fire District had to temporarily relocate firefighters from their station in Knightsen, California. The firefighters are being moved to a facility in Brentwood during the mold removal process along with the cleaning of its heating and air conditioning system. The repair work is expected to take the rest of this year to complete.

The Knightsen Fire Station is not the first house that had to be temporarily closed in California due to mold this year. Several months ago, the Chico Enterprise-Record published an article about Chico’s Fire Station 5 having to relocate its firefighters due to mold problems.

Although mold is a natural part of the environment and can be found all around us, having it grow indoors and exposing people to high levels in the air they breathe can lead to serious health concerns. Molds produce allergens, irritants, and, in some cases, toxic substances known as mycotoxins. Inhaling or touching mold or mold spores may cause allergic reactions in sensitive individuals and the mold does not have to be alive to cause an allergic reaction. Mold is also a known asthma trigger and it can even cause infections in people with a weakened immune system.

“Fortunately, testing identified the problem at the Knightsen Fire Station so that the facility could be remediated,” said Jason Dobranic, Ph.D., Vice President of Microbiology and Life Sciences at LA Testing and EMSL Analytical, Inc. “LA Testing provides a complete array of mold testing and other indoor air quality services to identify elevated levels of mold and other pollutants in these types of situations. These services can quickly determine if there is a problem and are essential for post-remediation testing to ensure the problem has been properly resolved.”

LA Testing has sponsored an online video about health issues that can be caused by breathing mold that can be seen at: http://youtu.be/61eTg1WfJHo.

LA Testing is California’s leading laboratory for indoor air quality testing of asbestos, mold, lead, VOCs, formaldehyde, soot, char, ash and smoke damage, particulates and other chemicals. In addition, LA Testing offers a full range of air sampling and investigative equipment to professionals and the general public. LA Testing maintains an extensive list of accreditations including: AIHA LAP LLC., AIHA ELLAP, AIHA EMLAP and AIHA IHLAP, NVLAP, State of California, State of Hawaii Department of Health and other states. LA Testing, along with the EMSL Analytical, Inc. network, has multiple laboratories throughout California including South Pasadena, Garden Grove, San Leandro and San Diego.